Magical Express

[charlielinda]

Can someone tell me about it? How much is it?

 

[goofy-4-ever]

It's free and you sign-up when you book your magical vacation. They send you a package with tags that you put on your bags and then when you get to MCO they get your bags and deliver them to your resort. You just go and check in at MCO with the ME and they put you on the ME to your resort.

 

[goofy-4-ever]

Here are a couple of links with more information.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/Transportation/magical-express.htm
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/resorts/benefitDetail?id=BenefitDMEDetailPage

 

[AppleSister1]

but frankly, I've heard bad things. I've never done Magical Express per se, but did use Mears shuttle prior to Magical Express being established. Mears still does the transportation for ME. My experience with Mears was not so great...overcrowded coaches (our family had to separate once) long trips, mulitple stops, etc. Also, there's something about trusting someone else to pick up my luggage and bring it to my hotel room that scares me a bit. What if the airline loses it? How and how soon will I find out? I've also heard that the luggage can take a LONGGGG time to arrive in your room.

All that said.....I'm sure there are many who LOVE Magical Express. This is just my own opinion. We've done towncars the last couple of trips...it hasn't been overly expensive per person (we're a group of 5-6), we could get a grocery stop if we wanted, and we went directly to our resort without having to stop and let off others.

Again, just my two cents.

 

[marciemouse]

We use ME when we are coming for shorter trips and don't want to rent a car. I've never had to wait long for the bus to leave the airport, and have always been taken directly to my hotel. (value) That being said, we never put the tags on our luggage! We either just do carry-ons or pick up our own bags at the baggage claim carousel and proceed to the ME desk. It's always worked out just fine for us. Of course, if you want to stop and get groceries, then the towncar isn't a bad idea. (or you could use ME and order from www.gardengrocer.com)

 

[skipperkim]

I love ME. I get off the plane, head to the ME counter, where they tell me what line to get in. I get on the bus, my case was I walked right on the bus. We waited about 10 min to leave. We did make one stop before we arrived at our resort. We checked in and went to MK to eat lunch around 3pm. When were returned to our resort our bags were in our room. It truly is MAGICAL!

 

[MikeyNS]

Just grab your bags and bring it to the ME bus with you... easy peasy.

 

[vanyel]

I was really skeptical of ME as I've always rented cars but it was so easy and convenient. I think I'm an ME convert now.

 

[goofy4tink]

DME runs exceptionally well for what it is. Yes, Mears drives the buses, but they are owned by Disney, so they adhere to Disney rules. It is not the same as the Mears shuttle was years ago. I've done that and won't be doing it again any time soon!!! It was nasty.

My average time from deplaning to resort checkin has been 70 mins. It is usually much shorter...but one time I was the last of three stops (AKL, CSR, POP) and people had brought a ton of luggage to the bus with them, so it took longer to get going and longer at each resort stop. It was about 80 mins for that trip.

If you trust the airline to take care of your checked bags, you should have no problem at all letting DME grab it at MCO and get it to your resort. The airlines have a much worse record for misdirecting baggage than DME. The worst thing that could happen with DME is that your bag could go to the wrong resort....that's easily remedied.

Yes, there are those who prefer a towncar service. And that's fine. No one mode of transportation is going to work for everyone. But, with a towncar, you need to add in about 20 mins for your baggage collection, then the driver has to get the car and bring it around (or you have to walk to the smaller lot across the driveway). It comes out to about the same amount of time. The only time I have gotten to my resort in 45 mins was when I had carryon bags only. With checked luggage, using a towncar service, it's usually about an hour.
And I use a grocery delivery service. Sure, they charge a delivery charge, but $12-15 isn't much. And I don't waste time in a strange grocery store.

 

[goofy4tink]

Can someone tell me about it? How much is it?

I apologize...I never answered your question! When you make your resort reservation you can make a reservation for DME. Then when you have your flight info, you can call back and have it added to the info they have.
You will get an info packet 4-5 weeks before you depart for WDW. In it will be your bus vouchers which will be stamped upon DME checkin, your yellow luggage tags ( 2 per person on the reservation) and all sorts of info about DME..how to find the counter, etc.
When you get to MCO, you will need to get to Side B, and go to Level 1. You arrived on level 3, baggage claim is on level 2. Level 1 is ground transportation. You head to the DME counter, get checked in, and then you'll be directed to the appropriate resort bus line. There are generally 3 resorts on each bus, but they are close to each other so it doesn't take a huge amount of time to go to each of them.
As for your bags....you will put one of the yellow tags on each checked bag, then say goodby to them at your home airport. These bags will be taken directly from the plane to a special area in the terminal. Then, the bags are sorted by resort and put on luggage trucks, and off they go to each resort. It can take a bit of time for your bags to get to you, so pack a carryon bag with anything you may need for the first 6 hrs of your stay..swim suits, change of clothes, etc.
You can expect your bags to 'magically' appear in your resort room up to three hours after you checkin.
For your return trip...if you are flying home on Alaska, Airtran, American, Continental, Delta, Jetblue, Northwest, Unitied you can check your bags right at your resort up to 12 hrs before your flight, but no less than 3 hrs before departure. You can also get your boarding passes issued at the same time. It is the same thing as curbside checkin...just a lot further away.
You will be notified the day before you leave as to what time to be at the DME bus stop for your return to MCO. It is usually about 3 hrs. before flight departure time...you need to be at MCO 2 hrs before your flight and it takes 30 mins to get to MCO from WDW, and you could have other stops along the way, so you need the 3 hrs.
If you aren't flying on one of those participating airlines, you just bring your luggage to the DME bus stop with you and it goes underneath the bus you are on. Be sure to be at the bus stop 15 or so minutes before the time they gave you. The time they gave you is when the bus leaves, not when you should amble on over.

 

[CleveRocks]

but frankly, I've heard bad things. I've never done Magical Express per se, but did use Mears shuttle prior to Magical Express being established. Mears still does the transportation for ME. My experience with Mears was not so great...overcrowded coaches (our family had to separate once) long trips, mulitple stops, etc. Also, there's something about trusting someone else to pick up my luggage and bring it to my hotel room that scares me a bit. What if the airline loses it? How and how soon will I find out? I've also heard that the luggage can take a LONGGGG time to arrive in your room.

All that said.....I'm sure there are many who LOVE Magical Express. This is just my own opinion. We've done towncars the last couple of trips...it hasn't been overly expensive per person (we're a group of 5-6), we could get a grocery stop if we wanted, and we went directly to our resort without having to stop and let off others.

Again, just my two cents.

But frankly, it's your opinion about something that doesn't exist anymore. The Mears shuttle and DME bear no resemblence to each other. Yes, Mears supplies the drivers and buses, but it is all run by Disney's policies and procedures. The things you were unhappy about with the former Mears shuttle do not exist with DME ... it's a very different service.

Don't use it if you don't want to, but why share a negative opinion about something you've never tried?

The other thing, when mentioning "I've heard bad things ...", it's easy to pick and choose. Yes, we've had some isolated bad reports about DME. We've also heard some isolated bad reports about car services and rental cars. Those isolated reports of no-show drivers and no available rental cars shouldn't stop people from "trusting" car services and rental car agencies overall, just like isolated reports of problems with DME shouldn't stop people from using DME. Know what I mean?

 

[Edd]

A little bit of clearing up is due here. The busses are owned by Mears and Disney does not own Mears. The drivers are also paid by Mears. The rules that are adhered to are basically Mears rules with Disney signing off on them. Mears does have a contract with Disney to provide the transportation, and is a highly reputable company that needs little supervision by Disney.

I have known the vice-president in charge of bus and shuttle operations for many years. I don't think you will find that Disney has much imput into the daily operations of the bus transportation, also known as DME.